Bottle. Pours slightly hazy golden with an offwhite head. Aroma of sweet malt, yeast, lots of brett, wood, sweet fruit, grassy hops, berries, little parfumy. Flavor is light sweet, malt, yeasty, spicy bretty, wood, berries. Medium body, Spitzy fine carbonation, dry finish. 060216

Bottle. Hazy amber with big off/white head. Aroma is malt, brett, lemon, little caramel, yeast, leather, barnyard and funky. Flavour is malt, brett, little caramel, lemon, funky, medium dry, little sweet, leather, barnyard and emdium bitter.

330ml bottle

Pours dark orange with a massive foamy head. Aroma of urinal cake, tartish pear, bretta, yeast and stuffy notes. Taste is tartish, smooth and funky with mild hints of bretta, pear and stuffy notes. Finish is carbonated, stuffy and yeasty with hints of pear. A bit thin.

33 cl bottle @ home
No idea of vintage or ABV, but at least this does not feel old
Aroma has bretta notes, earthy tones and some mild toffee. Flavour has strong urinal tones, tartness, grapefruit, mild apricot and hints of toffee. A bit foamy palate. Also some menthol in the finish. Refreshing and quite good; better than I expected.

0,33 l bottle from FIRMA BIER. Hopefully it is not just a fake with the label being removed from the regular one. Minimally hazy, golden amber with a huge, foamy, very slowly diminishing, white head. Funky aroma of lemon, fermented apples, white grapes and a bit of gooseberry. Weak, sourish taste of lemon, fermented apples, white grapes and gooseberry. Short, dry and a little watery finish with slight hop bitterness and a bit of iron as well. Thin body and a bit watery, fizzy mouthfeel, lively carbonation. Not easily distinguishable from the regular Orval if you do not compare them at the same time. But to be honest, this one is just a shadow if its older brother as it is quite weak in aroma and taste and nothing more than a nice thirst quencher. There is no need to drink it regularly and thus to distribute it outside the holy halls. And no, that bottle was not just a fake.

Bottle purchased from Kraddel at the bar he works at in Antwerp early 2014, consumed at home. Easter Monday 6th April 2015 Drinking this alongside a regular but very fresh standard Orval, looks wise they are startlingly similar, both are a hazy orange moving to brown with a slight glow and a handsome puffy, swiftly departing head. If I had of had this as a standalone Orval I have to confess that my suspicions may not have easily been aroused, it’s very similar in taste, it’s a great beer, but having the luxury to compare you realise it is a little thinner in the mouth, a little less sweet and not as malty (not that the original is that malty btw) I rather like this version, interestingly I’d had this before but never got round to rating it. A7 A5 T7 P3 Ov15 3.7

Bottle @ Stephen’s whale slaying. Thanks Eric! Pours a hazy yellow orange appearance with an off white head. Some funk and floral notes to go with some salsa and veggie notes. A bit twangy and grassy. Chewy, dry and herbal. Pretty refreshing. Maybe meant to be drank a fresher but still kind of fun.

The ’green’ Orval, a remnant of the second World War and now the monks’ own "refter beer" - in other words, the beer for daily use. Limited production and very hard to find, I had it from a bottle once and a second time from tap at L’Ange Gardien. Loose, off-white head, colour a deep amber, the same as the ’big’ Orval but a tad paler. Aroma and taste are basically the same, but everything in a more subdued, diluted way, less outspoken, as if you would pour mineral water into an ordinary Orval. A bit sweeter perhaps too, but the aftertaste shows the same dry-hopped effect, long and bitter. Bit thin mouthfeel due to the low ABV. Not sure if this is a different recipe, as the monks claim; to me, this did seem like an Orval diluted with water, which is possibly what it is. But still, it remains an Orval!